Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62D—CHEMICAL MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES OR FOR COMBATING OR PROTECTING AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICAL AGENTS; CHEMICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN BREATHING APPARATUS
  • A62D3/00—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
  • A62D3/30—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances by reacting with chemical agents
  • A62D3/35—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances by reacting with chemical agents by hydrolysis
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62D—CHEMICAL MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES OR FOR COMBATING OR PROTECTING AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICAL AGENTS; CHEMICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN BREATHING APPARATUS
  • A62D3/00—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances
  • A62D3/30—Processes for making harmful chemical substances harmless or less harmful, by effecting a chemical change in the substances by reacting with chemical agents
  • A62D3/36—Detoxification by using acid or alkaline reagents
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
  • C07C—ACYCLIC OR CARBOCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
  • C07C51/00—Preparation of carboxylic acids or their salts, halides or anhydrides
  • C07C51/41—Preparation of salts of carboxylic acids
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A62—LIFE-SAVING; FIRE-FIGHTING
  • A62D—CHEMICAL MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES OR FOR COMBATING OR PROTECTING AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICAL AGENTS; CHEMICAL MATERIALS FOR USE IN BREATHING APPARATUS
  • A62D2101/00—Harmful chemical substances made harmless, or less harmful, by effecting chemical change
  • A62D2101/20—Organic substances
  • A62D2101/22—Organic substances containing halogen

Definitions

• Trichloroacetic acid is used in high concentration for the isolation and purification of protein, such as recombinant alpha-interferon, from fermentation mixtures during commercial production. Consequently, large quantities of TCAA are generated in the waste stream.
• TCAA is corrosive, is not biodegradable and requires disposal in an environmentally acceptable manner.
• the Merck Index 11th Ed., (1989) p. 1515, discloses the decomposition products of TCAA as being chloroform, HCl, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
• the present invention involves a process for decomposing TCAA by treating with 6 or more equivalents of a metal hydroxide at a temperature above 60° C.
• metal hydroxide is selected from an alkali metal hydroxide, an alkaline earth hydroxide, or a combination thereof.
• More preferred is a process wherein 6 or more equivalents of a metal hydroxide, wherein the metal hydroxide is selected from NaOH, KOH, or a mixture thereof, is used at a temperature of 90° to 120° C., preferably at 100° to 115° C.
• metal hydroxide means an alkali metal hydroxide, an alkaline earth hydroxide, or a combination thereof;
• alkali metal hydroxide means NaOH, KOH or LiOH
• alkaline earth hydroxide means Mg(OH) 2 or Ca(OH) 2 .
• the process of the present invention comprises contacting the waste stream containing TCAA with an excess of a metal hydroxide at a temperature above 60° C.
• the TCAA and metal hydroxide can be combined at a temperature of above 60° C.
• the TCAA and metal hydroxide can be combined at 60° C., or at a temperature below 60° C., then heated to a temperature in excess of 60° C. to carry out the decomposition.
• the contacting is carried out in the presence of water.
• the metal hydroxide is introduced as an aqueous solution or alternatively as a solid.
• the TCAA can be introduced as an aqueous solution or alternatively as a solid. Where both the TCAA and the metal hydroxide are introduced as a solid, water is also added.
• the decomposition method of the present invention results in the chemical reaction of TCAA and the metal hydroxide to form the corresponding metal chloride, metal carbonate and metal formate.
• the metal hydroxide is NaOH the following chemical reaction takes place:
• metal hydroxide is a bivalent metal hydroxide, i.e., an alkaline earth metal hydroxide
• 6 equivalents of hydroxide anion are provided by 3 mole of equivalents of the metal hydroxide.
• the metal hydroxide is Ca(OH) 2 the following chemical reaction takes place: ##STR1##
• the TCAA decomposition method of the present invention has significant advantages over the prior art methods described above.
• the process of the present invention results in the decomposition of TCAA to form chlorides, carbonates and formates which are readily disposed of.
• the presence and quantity of chloride anion formed by the decomposition of TCAA is determined by titration using AgNO 3 .
• TCAA trichloroacetic acid
• 500 mL of water and 600 mL of 10N NaOH (aqueous) are combined 163.5 g (1 mole) of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), 500 mL of water and 600 mL of 10N NaOH (aqueous) and heat the mixture at 90°-100° C. Monitor the decomposition of TCAA by liquid chromatography as described above. The decomposition of TCAA is complete in approximately 3 hours as indicated by the absence of TCAA and the presence of 1 mole of formate anion in the resulting mixture. Titration via the methods described above confirms the presence of 3 moles of chloride and 1 mole of carbonate.
• the decomposition of TCAA can be accomplished using 240 g (6 moles) of NaOH pellets in place of the 10N NaOH solution.
• TCAA is decomposed by heating with 6 equivalents of KOH, or 6 equivalents of a mixture of KOH and NaOH.
• Example 1 The process of Example 1 is carried out using less than 6 equivalents of NaOH.
• the decomposition products include chloroform and carbon monoxide.
• Example 1 The process of Example 1 is carried out at a temperature of 60° C. The reaction progresses very slowly as determined by liquid chromatography.

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• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Toxicology (AREA)
• Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
• General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Emergency Management (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Organic Low-Molecular-Weight Compounds And Preparation Thereof (AREA)

Priority Applications (7)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (7)

Citations (2)

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• 1993
  • 1993-05-04 US US08/056,976 patent/US5288904A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1994
  • 1994-01-12 TW TW083100211A patent/TW247900B/zh active
  • 1994-05-02 IL IL10949494A patent/IL109494A0/xx unknown
  • 1994-05-02 AU AU67730/94A patent/AU6773094A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1994-05-02 EP EP94915873A patent/EP0696929A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1994-05-02 WO PCT/US1994/004505 patent/WO1994025115A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1994-11-21 EE EE9400306A patent/EE9400306A/xx unknown

Patent Citations (2)

Non-Patent Citations (3)

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